They called him a political dinosaur. But Lim Kit Siang proved his critics wrong by making a roaring comeback in the March general election after a stunning defeat five years ago.

His victory at Ipoh Timur with a nearly 10,000 majority will be made even sweeter when Lim takes over from PAS chief Abdul Hadi Awang as opposition leader when Parliament resumes next Monday. In the run-up to the election, Hadi had labelled the DAP supremo a 'has-been'.

Lim has agreed to participate in a Q&A forum with malaysiakini readers. Questions should be sent to editor@malaysiakini.com , which will then be relayed to the opposition leader. His answers will be published in malaysiakini .

At 63, Lim is relatively young compared to many other veteran leaders on both sides of the political divide.

The reason? He was only 28 when appointed DAP secretary-general in 1969 - just days after the racial riots of May 13.

With the retirement of Dr Mahathir Mohamad from politics, Lim is now arguably the longest-serving politician in the country.

While he may be in his last lap as a parliamentarian - he will be in his 70s if he were to battle out another two general elections - Lim has, however, not contemplated retirement.

"One must retire one day," he said but he has yet to set a date for him doing that.

And health doesn't seem to be a problem to this old war horse. He said his 'running around' as a full-time politician was quite enough to keep him fit.

Twice imprisoned

Though having stepped down as DAP secretary-general - the party's most important post which he had held for 30 years until his shock defeat in 1999 - he is still widely considered as party's de facto leader.

Lim is now serving the party's in the largely ceremonial post of national chairperson.

In his more than three decades in politics, Lim was twice imprisoned under the Internal Security Act. His first stint was for 17 months after the May 13 riots in 1969, and the second during Operasi Lallang in 1987 for one and a half years.

Lim says that he believes that new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has now opened up a window of opportunity for reforms within Malaysian society.

"We don't know how far he is going to go, we don't know how sympathetic he will be. He has made all the right pledges for a clean, incorruptible and transparent, people-oriented government," he told malaysiakini .

"It would be a test of his commitment in whether he is prepared to make some difference."

While he was vocal in his criticisms of former opposition ally, the Muslim-based PAS, Lim was a little hesitant when asked about Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan).

"Keadilan should not be a catalyst for other people's political achievements or gains, it should be able to be on its own, but somehow it has not and I think it should now decide exactly what it wants its political role to be," he said after a long pause.

"I think it is still trying to look for a political identity."

Non-Malay support

According to Lim, the major task for DAP - which won 12 parliamentary seats and 22 state seats in the March polls - was to go beyond the party's Chinese-based constituency.

"The challenge for DAP now is how we can move organisationally to reach out and get more support from Malays and Indians," he said.

However, when asked how this could be done, he replied: "Of course, that is the question for the secretary-general to answer."

Lim was also asked to comment on speculation that the party's annual general meeting had been deferred from August to September for the exclusive purpose of enabling his son, Guan Eng, to be nominated as secretary-general.

Guan Eng, a former parliamentarian, was barred from holding political party posts for five years after he was convicted of spreading false news involving the alleged statutory rape of a minor by former Umno Youth chief and Melaka chief minister Rahim Thamby Chik.

Having served 18 months in prison, Guan Eng's five-year ban will expire this August.

"Just like I cannot orchestrate him (Guan Eng) going to jail and being disqualified from being a member of parliament, I cannot orchestrate what is going to happen to him - that all depends on the party," said Lim.

"For those who think a lot about the so-called dynasty, I think it refers to a very simplistic interpretation of events and the development of the party."

Q&A: I'll give Pak Lah two years to deliver, says Kit Siang

Photos by Tom Lungu